War of Shadows
by TeslaJet
Summary: Tarakudo is sealed away, but evil still lives on. When Captain Black destroys the mask of Tarakudo, nine new generals are selected and Jade is chosen as the monarch. But not all of the generals comply. Will Jade be able to unify the shadowkhan?
1. Chapter 1

**War of Shadows**

_Written by TeslaJet_

_Inspired by Project Dark Jade_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures._

The night was cold and wet, with rain beating down on the road. There was no lightning, but all the same very few were about, such was the intensity of the rain. A lonely phone booth stood on a corner of the sidewalk. Water collected on its roof and flowed down its sides as it stood, unmoving. To most passerbies it was merely a curiosity, something from the past that refused to accept its obsolescence. Only a few knew of its true nature. And some of those few were currently approaching it.

A group of five figures approached the booth. They were male, it was true, but to call them men was a bit of a misnomer, for four of them were beings that only the fifth truly new of, with orange skin and red hair. And the fifth, with his white hair and mismatched eyes, had left true humanity behind centuries ago.

The five stopped just outside of the phone booth, and took a moment to wait.

Finn, Ratso, and Chow were thoroughly miserable. Just as they thought they were free, when Tarakudo had been sealed away, their old master Daolon Wong had returned. The last Finn had recalled of the old wizard, he had been as powerless as Finn himself. But something had apparently happened to empower him. And now he and his friends were stuck as mutated henchmen again. The fact that it was raining was just the icing on the cake.

Their companions were of a different mind. Hak Foo was almost jubilant over his newly empowered state. His face, altered as it was, was alight with anticipation for the coming fight. Daolon Wong himself seemed more animated than usual, with a smile on his ancient lips and a certain sprightliness to his movements.

They stopped just outside of the phone booth. Daolon Wong, somehow dry in spite of the rain, set to work removing the wards that his despised antagonist had placed around Section 13. Not even sheltering from the rain, Wong began to speak. His syllables were ugly in their sound. Words that had no right to exist, let alone be spoken, flowed past his lips like polluted spring water. His voice growled out, whispering the profane words that eroded the wards that stopped him.

Slowly but surely, the wards started to buckle. Planes of magic started to waver, their potential energy leaking out and dissipating into wisps. Detection mechanisms built into the wards, constructs that normally would activate them, were worn down until blindness set it. The reserves of power, meant to block and counter intruders, were soon breached and negated.

Soon the wards were destroyed. Daolon Wong's smile grew. Now the path was open for him to gain what he sought. He stole a furtive glance toward his henchmen. The three lesser men were currently trying to cram themselves into the phone booth in an effort to escape the rain. Needless to say it was in vain. The greater henchman was merely staring at him. Daolon Wong suppressed a worried look.

Rejuvenated though he may be his powers were not what they once were. He could still empower minions, but his control over them was tenuous at best. It was vital that he claim the powers he sought before his henchmen realized he could not force their obedience. Still, if this gamble paid off, then the twelve talismans of Shendu would be his, and he would be nigh unstoppable.

"Ready yourselves" he snapped, drawing in on his power. The lesser minions barely had enough time to say "Huh?" before they were snatched up by Daolon Wong's teleportation spell.

…

The first clue Section 13 had that they were under attack was Uncle's willies. This did not surprise Uncle in the least. With Tarakudo sealed away, it was only a matter of time before a new evil entered the scene. As such, he was the only one who wasn't surprised when a pillar of blue smoke appeared in the middle of Section 13. What did surprise him however, were the figures in the spot where the pillar had been when it disappeared. Standing there, with his orange skinned henchmen, was his old adversary Daolon Wong.

The dark chi wizard appeared to be put out about something, possibly that he was surrounded by Section 13 personnel. Nevertheless, this did not stop him from yelling "Attack my minions"

"Aiyaa! Jackie, Daolon Wong has returned!"

"Tsunami destroys coastal town!" Hak Foo declared as he rushed forward with blinding speed. The agents nearest him were sent flying by the force of his charge. It seemed that his enhanced powers were back with a vengeance.

"Raaaaaagh!" Uncle turned to see the three enforcers charging him.

"You want a piece of Uncle?" Uncle said as he assumed a ready stance, puffer fish pointed forward. Three chi blasts later and they were flying back into the wall. Uncle turned to see Daolon Wong retreating toward the vaults.

"Jackie! Minion not important! Stopping Daolon Wong, important!"

Jackie was currently dodging blows from Hak Foo, who was gleefully trying to smash him to a pulp. Tohru tried to help, but was kicked across the room for his trouble.

"Bad day bad day bad day bad day!" Jackie yelled as he dodged a swipe to his head. Uncle reached the conclusion that he would, as usual, have to work more magic and stop the forces of darkness. Moving as fast as his aged limbs allowed, he chased after the dark chi wizard.

Daolon Wong stopped in front of the door to the talisman vault, and there he began the work of trying to destroy the door. Uncle knew that it would take him time: Uncle had set the wards in place himself. Hopefully he would make the mistake of ignoring Uncle while trying to break the door down.

No such luck. Barely had he began the incantation for the same spell he had used to drain Wong's powers than the dark chi wizard spun around and fired a blast that forced Uncle to duck. He straightened, stifling a groan. Old he may be, but he was not about to show weakness to his opponent.

Wong fired another blast. This one was intercepted and split in two by Uncle's own chi blast. Daolon Wong hissed in frustration before the green beam caught him in the shoulder. Somehow he withstood the blast and fired off two more of his own, both of which were deflected by Uncle. The room flashed green and blue with more shots as the two chi wizards dueled.

Truth be told, Uncle was rather puzzled. Daolon Wong's spells seemed to be weaker than when they had last fought. Whatever had restored his powers had done a shoddy job of it. Daolon Wong seemed also to be fighting with a certain desperation to his moves. Perhaps he was approaching the limit of rejuvenation.

"Zhen!" the dark wizard called out. However, the word had none of the echo or authority that was usually behind it, and Uncle noticed a distinct lack of Hak Foo appearing. Uncle smiled.

"Dark wizard has used verrrry shoddy spell to regain power, yes?" he said.

Wong's reply was to snarl and send another blast at the good chi wizard. Uncle blocked it and prepared a spell, only to stop when he heard a familiar shout behind him.

"Volcano incinerates field mouse!" Hak Foo yelled as he charged Uncle. Uncle had just enough time to hit him with a chi ray before the ghoul collided with him.

"Ugh. Drunken elephant…" Hak Foo mumbled before trailing off and collapsing on Uncle. Uncle found himself pinned underneath the former human, his puffer fish falling from his hand.

"Not exactly what I had in mind" Daolon Wong grumbled. He would have turned back to the door had not Tohru appeared, his own puffer fish at the ready.

"Daolon Wong" he challenged. A desperate look appeared on the chi wizard's face, and then he spat a single, ugly work that neither Tohru nor Uncle understood. He disappeared in a cloud of dark violet smoke, which lingered for a moment, and then disappated. Daolon Wong appeared, his face more worn than ever, but wearing a triumphant smirk.

The smirk disappeared when he actually saw what he had fetched with his latest spell.

"What is this?" Wong inquired as he held out the mask of Tarakudo.

"Aiyaa! Tohru, do not let Daolon Wong wear mask!" Uncle ordered. Tohru face palmed.

"Well in that case" Wong said with an evil grin. He started to put the mask on, only to watch it get knocked from his hands by a blast from Tohru. Daolon Wong snarled and then called out "Gun! Rhen! Chui!" This time the enforcers did appear in puffs of blue smoke. "Fetch me that mask!" Wong ordered.

"Whoa, boss, you really don't…" Finn began.

"I said get it!" Daolon Wong roared.

"Yes sir" the three enforcers said in unison, and they hurried after the mask. Finn was hit in the face by Tohru's chi blast as the sumo charged, determined not to let the enforcers get the mask for their master. Chow sent his staff spinning under Tohru's legs, ensnaring them and tripping the sumo, who crashed to the ground. Ratso approached the mask and almost had it when, from out of nowhere, Jade flew in on a pirated jet pack and stole the mask from him.

"Jade, get out of here!" Tohru yelled, wishing that she would just stay out of danger. Jade turned around and flared her stolen jetpack. With a whooshing sound it powered up and she shot out of the hallway. Chow and Ratso both threw their weapons after her. Ratso's hammer clipped her side, sending her spiraling out of control. Just as it looked like Jade would crash Jackie executed a jump that brought him into her trajectory and caught her. In the process however the mask slipped from Jade's grasp. It fell, straight into a teleporting Daolon Wong's grasp. With a cry of exultation the dark chi wizard held the mask up and then brought it to his face.

There was a loud bang, and the mask seemed to disintegrate in the dazed wizard's hands. Jackie and Jade looked over to see a smug Captain Black holding a detonator in his right hand. "I took the liberty of rigging the mask with explosives in case something like this happened" he said smugly. "Daolon Wong, you are surrounded. Give up now" he ordered.

Daolon Wong looked shocked and dazed, but then his eyes fixed on something, as did everyone else's.

From the remains of the mask rose traces of blackness that moved to Daolon Wong's eye level and then coalesced into ten balls of darkness. Nine were arranged in a circle with the tenth in the center. Then, without warning, they dispersed with lightening speed.

Daolon Wong staggered back as a ball collided with him. Another sped toward Jade and, despite Jackie's best efforts, hit and was absorbed by her. The rest flew away from Wong, through the walls, and to who knew where.

"Aiyaa! Who destroyed mask of oni!?" Uncle demanded, having just arrived at the scene. Captain Black raised his hand. Uncle proceeded to smack him on the head.

"How many times must Uncle say it: magic must defeat magic!"

"Indeed it must" said a voice. Everyone turned to Daolon Wong, who had recovered…and changed. His skin now had a gray tinge to it, and his eyes were also tinged red. He stood ram rod straight, and seemed to have lost his former desperation. He smiled a smile so wide it seemed to almost split his head.

"Come to me, my minions of darkness" he crowed triumphantly. Shadows formed on the floor, and tall figures formed. From a distance they could possibly pass as human. But closer inspection revealed lobster claws instead of hands and red glowing eyes. It also showed a strange body shape that suggested chitin plates instead of human skin. Jackie recognized the crab khan immediately. Daolon Wong looked puzzled at these shadowkhan. "What are these?" he asked, almost indignantly.

"They are shadowkhan of another tribe" a new voice said. A dreadfully familiar voice. Jackie gulped as he turned in the direction of the voice. To his utter horror and dismay he saw Jade. But it was not the Jade he had rescued from a careening jet pack. Her skin was now blue, her eyes solid red. She levitated, her hair suspended in a halo around her, almost as if she were underwater. But what was most dismaying was the mark of Tarakudo that had appeared on her forehead.


	2. Chapter 2

"Bow before Jade Chan, Queen of the Shadowkahn" Jade demanded.

It was Jackie's worst nightmare. Captain Black's act of destroying the mask had had worse consequences than he thought. Jade had always had a penchant for getting in danger. But now she was the danger. Again.

It was also the sort of scene that only seemed to happen to him, he thought belatedly, with unconscious Section 13 agents lying all over place and two shadowkahn rulers facing off. Of course he was caught in between them, as were Tohru and Uncle. Captain Black looked surprised but not overly so. He had probably gotten used to the supernatural by now.

The silence that followed Jade's order was interrupted by Daolon Wong. He laughed aloud, a sound that Jackie wasn't sure that he had heard before. It fitted his voice though, with a deep tone and abrupt endings to each burst.

"Bow to you? A mere child under the influence of magic? Pardon me for not acquiescing to your request" Daolon Wong said mockingly. He laughed again, then abruptly stopped and glared at her with a vicious smile. "You shall be the first to be punished by my minions. Shadowkahn, attack her" he ordered.

Jade braced herself, Jackie and Tohru both cried "No!" and readied themselves to stop the shadowkahn. As it turned out though, they needn't have bothered, for the shadowkahn did not attack Jade. Instead, they did…absolutely nothing.

After what Jackie estimated to be thirty seconds Daolon Wong, looking surprised and peeved, said angrily "I said, attack her!"

Still they did nothing, instead simply standing in place like some kind of nightmare mannequins. Daolon Wong, looking thoroughly bewildered now, looked to Jade and asked "What have you done to my minions?"

Jade shrugged. "I didn't do anything. Perhaps they simply know what a failure of a wizard you are and refuse to follow you"

Daolon Wong was clearly angered by this, and he said "Failure am I? Well then, we'll do things the old fashioned way". He called out "Gun, Rhen, Chui, Zhen!" The enforcers and Hak Foo appeared in poofs of blue smoke. Hak Foo had recovered from his Uncle induced unconsciousness, and now looked more ready than ever to fight.

"Destroy her!" Wong ordered. The enforcers, unlike the shadowkhan, rushed forward, bellowing their individual war cries.

Jade closed her eyes and clenched her fists. When she opened them again, a distortion rippled out from her. Jackie had once seen the shockwave caused by the detonation of dynamite, and he thought that this wave looked very much like that shockwave.

When the wave collided with the charging minions they were thrown back, even Hak Foo. They flew across the room, crashing into the wall behind Daolon Wong.

Even Jade looked surprised at this display, and she wasn't the only one. _How did she do that?_ Jackie thought.

"Ugh, she's like Tarakudo" Ratso groaned as he slid down the wall.

"Well, in that case" Jade said with an evil grin. She clenched her fists again and sent another wave of telekinetic force out, this time aimed at Daolon Wong. The wizard tried to teleport, failed, and was forced to make an undignified scramble to avoid the blast. He growled, turned, and ran for a piece of equipment that stood off to one side. Jackie had no idea what he was doing until he stepped into the thing's shadow and started to sink into it. The dark chi wizard waved his hand, and his minions disappeared.

"I shall be back!" he spat angrily.

"And where do you think you're going?" Jade said with a smirk. She started floating toward the dark chi wizard.

"Uncle could say the same thing to you" Uncle said, interrupting what had recently been a dialogue. He started chanting in Cantonese, and Jade yelped as a green sphere formed around her, imprisoning her. Tohru looked to where Daolon Wong had been but found that he had disappeared into the shadow. Angry at himself for not thinking of that sooner, the sumo joined Uncle in the binding spell that he was performing. With both wizards chanting they approached the imprisoned monarch. Despite her best efforts, Jade found she could not get free. She writhed and snarled, flailing her limbs and sending telekinetic blasts out. Tohru was clipped by one and pushed back a few paces, but he recovered and continued walking toward her.

When both were within reaching distance of Jade they pulled out brushes and ink. Still chanting, they both inked out a string of characters on her cheeks. When the last character had been painted on Jade abruptly froze. Both master and apprentice stopped their chanting. As they did so, the green prison vanished and Tohru caught Jade before she hit the ground.

For a moment there was silence. Then Captain Black started forward and said "Jackie…I'm so sorry"

Jackie waved the apology away, but Uncle was not so forgiving. "You ought to be!" Uncle snapped. "How many times must Uncle say it? Magic must defeat magic!"

"Uncle, you helped her once, you must do it again" Jackie said. Uncle smacked him between the eyes. "Ow"

"Uncle does not know spell. Different way of getting powers, different spell. Different powers themselves, different spell. Come Tohru, we must do research!"

The wizard and the sumo both walked toward the exit of Section 13, but Captain Black stopped them. "Jackie I'm sorry, but Jade will be safer in one of the vaults"

"What?" Jackie gaped at his longtime friend. "You can't imprison her!"

"I'm sorry, but letting her out of Section 13 is not a risk I want to take. Remember what happened last time she became like this?"

"Yes" Uncle said. "Uncle remembers Jade taking over Section 13 and Section 13 not being able to stop her"

A slightly aggrieved look came over Captain Black's face as Uncle recalled that last fact. Nevertheless he pressed his case. "I can't allow you to take her out of Section 13"

Tohru stepped forward, but Jackie placed a hand on the man's arm. "Tohru" he said quietly, "We can't win a fight here" The sumo stopped.

"Very well" he said reluctantly. Captain Black stepped forward, and Tohru allowed him to take Jade from his arms.

"Come Tohru" Uncle said, this time with a hint of sadness. Tohru sent a glare at Captain Black before turning and leaving. As he left, he heard Black say to his recovering agents "Stow her in the cell next to Drago's. Make sure there are no shadows in the vault"

…

Daolon Wong was furious. His raid had gone terribly awry. His powers had almost run out, and his reward for that was a group of useless shadowkahn. He would have summoned them for the sake of taking out his anger if he had had the power for it. As it was though, his adversary was right. Though the dark well spring had granted him some power, he was forced to use an improvised translation spell to make use of it. And as his enemy had learned, improvised spells were never as good as the real thing.

The dark chi wizard paced, growling angrily to himself. He needed to find another wellspring, that much was clear. The how to find it was the problem. If he returned to his castle his extensive library could give him a location spell, but finding the ingredients was another thing altogether. He wasn't sure he had enough power left to forcibly acquire them, but given his circumstances he did not have much choice in the matter.

Then a thought occurred to him. Perhaps what the youngest Chan had said was right. In that case, if she was the monarch of the shadowkahn, then that would explain why the shadowkahn had refused to attack her. If that was true, then maybe they would still obey other orders.

Daolon Wong decided to test the theory. He closed his eyes, reaching inside of himself, feeling the new shadows that resided there. He gave a mental command; _come out my minions_ he ordered.

A single shadowkahn appeared before him. It stood still as Daolon Wong inspected it. Yes, he thought, it could pass for human if it weren't for the claws. But that could come later. For now, the test was what was important.

"Break down the wall" he said, pointing to the end of the alleyway he was in. The lobster promptly rushed forward and buried its claws into the wall. Bringing the claws together, it opened and closed them, crushing through the material of the wall. Soon it was completely demolished.

"Yes" Daolon Wong said. It seemed his situation wasn't as hopeless as it seemed before. True, the shadowkahn's allegiance was ultimately another's, but they would obey him. That was all he needed to get the proper ingredients for his spell. With them, he could locate another dark wellspring and translate its earth magic to his chi. Then he would be fully empowered, and he could work on other projects, like securing the total obedience of his shadowkahn tribe.

He sensed something then. A shift in the order of the world. It was like his version of the willies. Daolon Wong could not be sure of what it was, but something dark had appeared in the world. He took this as a sign to hurry. Without any further action, he and the shadowkahn disappeared into the shadows.

…

Jade was completely immobilized. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't move a muscle. Her cheeks burned where Uncle and Tohru had applied the spell. It was infuriating. She was locked up in a vault, like some talisman. Just like Shendu and Drago, she was trapped. Even if the spell on her cheeks wore off, there was no way to escape. Captain Black had had one of his rare bursts of intelligence in his decision to keep all shadows out of the vault. And judging by the thickness of the door, it would take more than a telekinetic burst to force her way out.

Jade wished she could close her eyes, but even that was denied her. This only made the glaring lights in her cell all the worse. The harsh white light assaulted her eyes, and it felt like her body was being scorched. Part of her wished that she could examine herself, to see if any damage had been done but that action was of course denied her.

Having nothing better to do, she started to think about a question that had bugged her since her transformation. In between her mental grumbles and curses, the question of why she couldn't summon shadowkahn of her own occurred to her. Sure, she had telekinesis, and sure it was cool, but the mystery remained. During her last tenure she was unable to manipulate things with her mind but could summon shadowkahn. Now she was…she was what Ratso had said. She was like Tarakudo.

Then she felt it. The event. She couldn't show it physically, but her mind felt it happen. Somehow, she knew instinctively what it was. A tribe of shadowkahn had chosen another general. All she could do was wait and hope that this general was more loyal to her than the treacherous Daolon Wong had been.

…

"Alright, tell me what we've got" Captain Black said. He, Jackie, Uncle, and Tohru were seated around a table in one of Section 13's briefing rooms. All were tired, aside from the captain, who had dealt with fatigue before.

Tohru spoke up. "Uncle and I have studied the tablet we recovered in Shendu's palace for clues. While it only pertains to the oni generals, their origins indicate that they were chosen by the shadowkahn tribes as military leaders. Using this, we have come up with a theory on what happened"

Uncle took up the conversation now. "Destruction of mask has sent the oni to the afterlife. But, shadowkahn tribes remain and are now free" He scowled at Captain Black. "However, shadowkahn are leaderless. They require new generals to lead them, and new monarch to rule them. Jade is new monarch. Daolon Wong is new general"

"I'll make finding Daolon Wong our new top priority" Captain Black said. Uncle smacked him on the head.

"Daolon Wong not the only general! There are nine shadowkahn tribes"

Jackie's eyes widened as he realized the work ahead of them. "We have to find eight other generals?" he asked.

Uncle nodded. Tohru spoke again. "Uncle and I have already performed the location spell. The new general is at the summit of Mt. Fuji, Japan"

"Then let's get going" Black said. "I'll make the arrangements for a flight there"

As the captain stood up and left, Jackie turned to Tohru. "Have you found a spell to free Jade?" he asked hopefully. Tohru sorrowfully shook his head.

…

Jackie missed most of the flight to Japan, having used the opportunity to catch up on sleep. He slept lightly, his dreams filled with shadows, whispers, and the red eyes of shadowkahn. At one point he saw the world engulfed in shadow, with the warming rays of the sun completely blotted out. He awoke from these unnerving dreams just as the Section 13 jet was landing. Rubbing his eyes and hoping that what he had seen was just a dream, Jackie followed Captain Black and Tohru to the helicopter that had been set aside for their use.

"Okay, let's make this fast, before the general realizes what he is" Captain Black said as they clambered into the chopper. "Tohru, you have the locator, right?"

Tohru nodded, pulling out what had formerly been a mere compass. Uncle had given it to them as they left. In addition to the locator, each member of this party was equipped with an onion, just in case.

Black signaled to the pilot. Almost immediately the blades started to spin and the Section 13 entourage lifted off and left the Tokyo Airport.

As soon as they left the airport Jackie could see Mt. Fuji. From a distance, the bottom third looked like barren rock, while the rest was covered in snow. Jackie shivered at the thought of how cold it would be, and he wished that he had brought something warmer to wear. _Maybe I should have stayed home with Uncle_ he thought.

The helicopter ride took what felt like half an hour to pass over the crowded city of Tokyo and start the long flight up the mountain. Jackie spent the time wondering what exactly they were going to say to the man, or woman, that they met at the summit. _Hello, we think you may have been elected general of a tribe of shadow men. We have come to lock you up until a cure is found._ Somehow that didn't seem like such a good introduction.

The chopper rose higher and higher as it fought against gravity, striving through the ever thinning air to reach the top of the mountain. Jackie watched as the rock below turned to snow and ice, and then to glaciers.

Finally, Jackie felt the helicopter start to descend. Their trip was nearing its end, and for that he was grateful. The trip had not been a quiet one, between the pulsing sound of the rotor blades and the whining of the engines.

They settled near the top of the summit. Thankfully, almost no one was around. It seemed they had luck on their side.

"Okay Tohru" Captain Black said, "Work your magic"

Tohru pulled out the modified compass and started following the needle, which pointed up the trail. Jackie and Tohru followed.

Soon they had reached the summit. Jackie suspected that the view would have been glorious had he bothered to look. Instead, all of his senses were devoted to finding the general. He needn't have bothered searching with such devotion however, for there was one lone man standing on the summit. As soon as Tohru pointed the compass at him its needle pointed directly at him. Jackie suppressed a gulp, while Tohru and Captain Black looked like they were bracing themselves. Then, as one, they started forward.

The man stood still, facing away from them as the trio approached him. He was garbed in clothing meant for this sort of cold weather, wearing what looked like a fur coat and leggings. He was short too. As they approached the man turned, and Jackie saw a rather striking face with eyes that reminded him of an eagle. His nose was long, almost beaklike in its shape. As he turned Tohru stopped for a second, studying him. He frowned, obviously thinking about something, then continued onward.

They stopped within speaking distance, and Captain Black greeted the stranger in what Jackie guessed was Japanese. The man gave a short bow and replied in a polite tone. Tohru introduced himself, also bowing. Again, the birdlike man replied politely. Captain Black then started talking.

His speech was apparently rather blunt, for with a few words the man's face changed from polite to confused and almost angry. He replied, jabbering away what was probably some variation of _whatever it is I didn't do it._ Captain Black held his hands up in a placating gesture, and elaborated on what he had said earlier. It had no effect, for the man shook his head and replied vehemently. Then Captain Black pulled out a pair of handcuffs. The message was clear: _we can do things the easy way, or the hard way_. The man said something in a rather reluctant tone of voice, and walked resignedly toward them. As he came forward, Tohru stepped out and said something in an apologetic sort of tone. The man looked at him suspiciously, but begrudgingly allowed him to ink out a string of characters on his cheek. Captain Black then led them back to the helicopter.

…

The trip back was uneventful. For that Jackie was grateful. He had spent almost the whole trip suspiciously eying their guest, waiting for shadowkahn to appear. Thankfully, none had. Indeed, their guest had spent much of the flight back sleeping. Jackie now wished that he had spent the flight doing the same. Jet lag was beginning to set in, and Jackie had to stifle a yawn for what felt like the twentieth time as he, Tohru, and Captain Black escorted their guest into Section 13.

They came to an arch that Jackie recognized as one of Section 13's metal detectors. He and Captain Black passed through without a single problem. However, as soon as the Japanese man stepped into it its alarms went off, and he stopped.

Captain Black said something in Japanese to the man, probably some variation of _We'll need to search you for any metal._ Jackie expected the man's sulky expression to deepen and for him to start arguing. But he did none of these things. Instead a thoughtful look passed across his face. He then said, in fluent English "Well well, looks like humanity has learned something after all these ages after all. Then again, your Japanese born friend failed to recognize me for what I was despite his heritage. It seems that my tutelage has gone to waste" As soon as he was done speaking he whipped something out of his sleeve, a baby wipe of all things, and scrubbed the side of his face. At the same time, his other had darted forward, hitting Captain Black in the solar plexus. Captain Black stumbled backward and collapsed as the blow took its toll. He then turned to Jackie and launched a flurry of blows, all of which were countered by the Archeologist.

All of this however, allowed him to finish the scrubbing motion with the hand holding the wipe. Jackie looked up and, in dismay, saw that the character Tohru had inked out were gone. The man grinned, and then his eyes started to glow red. Shadows formed along the walls and pooled on the floor. Shapes arose, and Jackie recognized the ninja shadowkahn that he had fought so many times.

The agents of Section 13, who had had their weapons focused on the shadowkahn general, now found themselves facing a small army of twenty of the shadow warriors. While some of the agents were too surprised to act, the shadowkahn had no such inhibitions. Without a sound they attacked, limbs coming into play as their martial arts, equal to that of Jackie's, quickly took advantage of their enemies surprise.

Jackie turned back to the general, who had just disappeared in a puff of smoke. When he reappeared, he looked different. He looked like an anthropomorphized hawk, with arms blending into wings and a large beak dominating his face. His feathers were mostly orange, but his wing and tail feathers were red. His height was the only thing that remained uncahanged. He wore an outfit similar to the shadowkahn he had just summoned, with two swords belted at his waist and a bandolier of shuriken.

Tohru stared at the creature in shock. "A tengu" he whispered.

The tengu spread his wings and took to the air, then sped off behind Tohru. Jackie followed him, running down the corridor that the tengu had taken. He came into a room just in time to see the tengu jam a large red switch.

Section 13 was plunged into darkness. Jackie realized that the creature must have hit the master switch to the main base. He readied himself, his every sense straining, desperately hoping he could stop the attack that was surely incoming.

As a matter of fact however, there was no attack. Jackie merely heard the tengu fly past him and back down the corridor which they had taken. Jackie started to follow, but realized that no one stood a chance in conditions like this. He had to flip the power back on. Luckily for him, the emergency generators came on at that moment, and the base was illuminated, albeit only partially. It was enough for Jackie to spot the master switch on the opposite side of the room. He ran to it, flipping it the other way as soon as he was in reaching distance.

Jackie heard an almost inaudible hum, and light quickly flooded the room again. With that accomplished Jackie sprinted out of the room, taking the same path he thought the tengu had back into the main room of Section 13. He rushed in, only to find that the fight was over.

Some of the Section 13 staff were unconscious, while others were still standing, looking around for their foes. The shadowkahn however were nowhere to be found.

"What happened?" Jackie queried.

"The lights came back on and they disappeared" one of the agents said.

"This is too easy. Check the vaults" Captain Black ordered.

A few of the agents left to the vaults. Jackie worriedly followed them. The first vault to be inspected was the talisman vault. Jackie sighed with relief as he saw that the talismans were still there. His relief quickly fled however as they left and approached Jade's vault. The agents assumed ready positions. One of them keyed in the code to open the door. It swung open, and the agents all tensed.

They needn't have bothered, for the vault was empty.


End file.
